E.R.

Just another typical day in the ER for me and my girls. When I was growing up, I was definitely a tomboy. I was in the ER every other minute - broken arms, fractured kneecaps, dislocated collar bones, dog bites, hit by a car, too many to count stitches, and on and on and on....... My poor mother. I was only one of 4 rough around the edges children. She wasn't there just for me....

Well, I believe in Karma. I have been to the emergency room with my daughters no less than 5 times in the last month. Asthma attack, two stomach cramps (possible ruptured cysts), thought it was a broken foot - but thankfully just badly hemorrhaged - and something else I've forgotten.

Today, was the foot.

But the good news is, while I was studying medicine for my RN certificate, Todd was signing a job!! Yahoo!! We are on our way to our favorite Tokoyo Hibatchi to celebrate with sushi!

Day Two....

I'm stuffed. I just threw a pizza party for my students at school, and guess who is eating all the leftover pizza. I actually feel dizzy.
We are celebrating learning our parts of speech: nouns, verbs, pronouns, conjunctions, etc.... We made a pizza out of tagboard and construction paper and then each slice was a part of speech. As they learned each one, they chose four words to represent and wrote them on their toppings (olive, pepperoni, mushroom, & sausage). Being that I am at school now, and have no way of getting a picture, you'll just have to imagine the cuteness! Anyway, we topped it off with our own pizza party, and this is why my pants won't fit for the afternoon session.

I've decided to post on my lunch break since I sit in front of a computer, I have time on my hands, and I'm not one to snub a commitment - except for dieting and working out.

Today, Todd took Austin to the doctors. The cold is in his chest, and he has quite a cruppy cough, but thank God it isn't in his ears. So, Tylenol for a few more days, and hopefully we will be swimming again soon.

I just finished reading two good books; a series, if two books constitutes a series. The first is Daughter of Fortune and the second was My Life in Sepia. The first takes place during the Gold Rush, and it's about a young girl living in Chile. She falls in love and when her man leaves for the fortune in California, she stows away on a ship to track him. Easy reading, nice historical information, fun fiction. Book two is told from the granddaughter's perspective years later.

Not much else. Just trying to plan a trip to San Diego soon for some Sea World action. What are you doing for summer travel this year?

A New Commitment

Workouts, dieting, saving money, patience, kindness...
these are the things that I almost daily try to commit myself to doing. But, alas, today I'm going to add "Write on your blog daily to keep a record of Austin's growing up" to the list. I tend to do better when there is a reason for doing something.

So, in an effort to make good on my new commitment, here goes....

Well, my darling, precious son, whom I could eat up with a spoon because you are so full of sugar, today you are home with your sister, Kalie, watching you. Your daddy is busy now! Yahoo!! Being out of work for more than 7 months makes for stressful times!

You are getting over a cold, but unfortunately our swimming pool and waterfall are your most favorite places on the entire planet and you really want to dive in! Yesterday, you turned 22 months old, and already you swim with only a light vest on. You jump by yourself off the waterfall and diving rocks giving your poor Mama quite a scare. But Daddy encourages this. You absolutely LOVE it.

With being sick and all, you stand at the back sliding door and beg for someone to turn on and off the waterfall. Thus, you are now learning these two words. At this time, you only say up, Mama, Daddy, and a resounding "YEEEAHHHHH". Now, you say "off" like a German clearing his throat. A lot of guttural sounds in it. This is not to say that you don't speak. You chatter non stop! And, you know what EVERYTHING means.

You still love going to Grammie's house and having everyone hit the wind chimes. You can now crawl up onto her planter box and walk along smacking a few of your own. This and opening and shutting her kitchen door are the favorite things to do their now. We go for walks daily, and you know all the houses that have flags, wind chimes or other paraphernalia hanging from the front porch before we even get there!

You are precious beyond words. Your sisters are about to enroll in summer school at the local college and try to knock a few more classes off their list. Kalie has spent much time watching you, but her and Ashley both work for the same company and log many hours there as well. Perhaps they will be moving out soon.....

Last night, Todd made some delicious BBQ'd ribs, and we had sweet potatoes on the side. I think we will have left overs tonight, but I'm going to make an apple tart I saw on Pioneer Woman's site. Look on my sidebar and click on her blog for some wonderful recipes, photography, homeschooling ideas, and her everyday life in the country. She won the Blog of the Year Award last month!

Anyway, that's enough for now. Tomorrow, I will start to gather free summer ideas and post a few! Only 2 1/2 weeks of school left. Can I hear and AMEN, and excuse the noise, that's me singing the Hallelujah chorus off my front porch!

Some days are better than others.....

I like a hot summer day or a nice rainy day over a windy day..
I like lazying around reading magazines (I subscribe to Rachel Ray, Family Fun, and More)
Other days I love cleaning and making sure my house is spic and span...
Today is a shopping day! Another winner!

First, I'm getting my nails done (long overdue), then I'm taking Austin, Ashley, and Kalie to pick out wind chimes for their grandma's backyard. My precious mom has wind chimes hanging all around a back covered patio, and Austin LOVES them. EVERYTIME we are at her house he runs to the backyard first. We need to hit each one (a time or six) and make them ring. Unfortunately, some are down to one chime hanging there all by their lonesome as they are old, falling apart, and apparently not suppose to be hit so often. So, for Mother's Day, she is getting 3 new wind chimes!

Yesterday, Todd gave me a gift card to Home Depot for Mother's Day. He knew I wanted new flowers to plant in our beds, so I'm off to gather some new plants! Yahoo!!

Then, after all the shopping, planting and sweating, I'm getting my hair done at 4:00. I think I'll arrange a babysitter (Kalie) and take my husband out for dinner to top off the day.

Tomorrow I'm having my family over for brunch. I'm making a baked french toast with blueberries. It's made with Hallah, so it should be nice and light. It's from At Home with Giada, if you watch Food Network! I'll serve sausage and bacon, scrambled eggs with melted cheese, and fruit on the side. Perhaps Mimosa's would be nice for the adults - but I think I'll check out Sandra Lee's cocktails for a more inspiring drink.

Whatever you do tomorrow, I hope it's wonderful! Happy Mother's Day!

Laid Out Flat

My back is acting up again. Two years ago, I herniated a disc in my back - 1 cm. It took awhile of physical therapy, shiatsu treatments, and lots of TLC for it to work its way back to normal.

This is my Spring break week! And boy, was I excited. I had been putting in 10 - 12 hour days at work, and I was so looking forward to catching up on a few things at home and playing with Austin. Sure enough, the beginning of the week was overcast. Perfect for cleaning out the medicine cabinet, calling to reduce our interest rate on our mortgage, and trying out a few new recipes.

By Wednesday, I knocked everything off my To Do list and was feeling awesome. Except for an occasional tweek in my lower back. Waking up Thursday, I knew it was all over. My back was stiff and I couldn't lift Austin out of his crib. Thank God for my 76 year old mom who continually amazes me with her unbounding energy and love.

She is over EVERY morning at 6:30 to play with her precious grandson when he wakes up. It is so special for both of them. Well, she helped get him up, and she played with him for an hour before she had to leave for work.

Todd was already gone, and of course, both girls were sleeping. So I slowly got Austin a book to read and played for awhile. Then we went to do a couple of errands, which began to make my back feel a little more strained.

I needed to make a choice though, on the way home. Do I lay on the couch and let my son ran rapid through the house, or should we go to the park and let him play on the swings and slides. I chose the park. I felt walking slowly around him was a better choice than demolishing my house and running after him anyway.

The park was beautiful. Lots of kids, moms and children, and gorgeous weather. But my back stiffened more. By 12:00 we headed home, and thankfully Todd was there to put Austin down for his nap.

I went to the chiropractor at 3, got a small bit of relief and now I'm making dinner. I just popped in to get the Parmesean crusted fillo dough recipe which is stuffed with asparagus. Someday, I'll post my menu again.

Hope your days have been productive and pain free.....

Sponsor Me at March for Babies!

My sister in love is walking for this great cause! If you would like, help support all the struggling babies fighting for their chance to thrive! God Bless!

Cross this off my list......

Because I am a nuerotic creature, I keep lists. I have lots of lists and even times put next to them. I know, it's scary.

This has been on my list for some time - write blog entry.

I know there is much to write about:

*the baby shower I threw at my house last week for a neighborhood friend. So much fun and lots of little surprises along the way....

*my last day of school before Easter break let out and the fun we had making tye dyed Easter baskets

*or my little bunny that came home from his Tails and Trails class



*my kitchen, which is looking quite beautiful, I might add. Anything other than plywood counters can't be half bad...

but, now that I'm listing all these things I could write blogs about, I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. So, before these get added to my already long list, I'm signing off.

PS For dinner tonight I'm making Mac n Cheese, Corned Beef, and a yummy salad. This relieves a little of my lack of posting menus......

PPS Good grief.